Month: March 2018

Olympic star Ryan Donato scored his first NHL goal on Monday as he made his debut for the Boston Bruins against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Donato’s slap shot at 14 minutes, 19 seconds of the second period tied the game at 1-1, assisted by Danton Heinen and Torey Krug. Donato was playing left wing on

Yep. We’ve been doing this for 24 long weeks. The Chicago Blackhawks record currently stands at 30-34-9, for 69 points. This is good for 24th place in the league. If you had the ability to go back one year and then look ahead to today, you probably wouldn’t believe it. After all, the Hawks have

What’s The Grind Line? Apart from the once-famous line of Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, and either Joe Kocur or Darren McCarty, The Grind Line is also The Hockey Writers’ weekly column about the Detroit Red Wings. Jacob Messing, Griffin Schroeder, and Tony Wolak are the muckers who make up THW’s forechecking unit and sound off

Left wing Ryan Donato, who starred for Team USA at last month’s Pyeongchang Winter Games, has signed with the Boston Bruins and will be eligible to play Monday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Donato, 21, is a 2014 second-round draft pick of Boston and the son of former Bruin and current Harvard coach Ted

The Boston Bruins have signed forward Ryan Donato to a two-year entry-level contract, the team announced Sunday. Donato was originally a second-round pick of the Bruins in 2014 in a draft class that is proving to be one of their best classes in franchise history. Bruins sign Ryan Donato to entry-level contract: https://t.co/oQbqCL7JFF — Boston

Veteran defensemen Kevin Bieksa and Francois Beauchemin have had their share of rocky moments with the Anaheim Ducks this season. Deteriorating speed in the twilight of their careers seems to be the main reason for their often subpar play, but in the case of Bieksa, an ongoing issue with his left hand has possibly exacerbated

NHL color analyst and insider to the Edmonton Oilers, Bob Stauffer, posted a tweet after Saturday’s game that couldn’t be more accurate. Following a 4-2 Edmonton victory over the Florida Panthers, Stauffer pointed out that depth-forward Jujhar Khaira has taken some major steps forward for the team this season. In fact, some will argue, he’s

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — One minute Dmitry Kulikov was feeling fine, the next moment he wasn’t. And now the Winnipeg Jets‘ defenseman will undergo back surgery and miss at least eight weeks. Jets coach Paul Maurice said it was the same injury Kulikov suffered last season while with the Buffalo Sabres. Kulikov was hurt while taking

Hope is on the horizon. The Sabres have a number of exciting players that are already in their system. There is a definite group of players ready for NHL play. And there is a distinct group that is close but, realistically, at least a year away. One never knows exactly how a teenager or young

When the new-look New York Rangers go for what is sure to be a second round of reconstructive surgery this June at the NHL Entry Draft, the team isn’t expected to have many untouchables. The club made that known when they issued the now infamous letter to their fanbase back in February designed to give

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Washington Capitals say center Evgeny Kuznetsov is day-to-day with an upper body injury and won’t play Sunday at the Philadelphia Flyers. Kuznetsov was slashed in the left wrist/arm by New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey and crashed into the boards with the same area of his body Friday night in the

For about 20 minutes on Friday night, the Niagara IceDogs looked completely disinterested. Although they got a quick goal just 2:22 into the game from Oliver Castleman, they had the look of a team that thought they could waltz into Erie with less than full effort and sleep walk through the game. The Erie Otters

Talking to the media earlier this week, Canadiens owner Geoff Molson could only commit to one thing: general manager Marc Bergevin staying on for now. Everyone already knew that, though. In Defense of Molson The only quasi-surprise in Molson’s comments was his acknowledgement that this season has been a bad one, but that’s more a

Pending a late-season surge, the Detroit Red Wings will once again find themselves without a 30-goal scorer. It will be the organization’s ninth consecutive season without having a single player hit the mark, the longest such streak in the NHL. In 2008-09, Marian Hossa led the team with 40 goals, followed by Johan Franzen, Pavel

The Edmonton Oilers chose to add to their depth, signing prospect Kirill Maksimov to a three-year entry-level contract Thursday. Makismov was taken in the fifth round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, and since becoming an NHL prospect, he has continued to show a lot of potential over this past year and has proven his worth

Remember the time when Michael Del Zotto was the Vancouver Canucks number one defenceman? Yeah, that was when the Canucks were winning games. As funny as that may sound (except for Canucks fans), you could make the argument that Del Zotto shouldn’t even be in the top six. It’s been a perplexing season for the 27-year-old

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Anaheim Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa will be out for two to five weeks after surgery to remove scar tissue from his left hand. Bieksa is having surgery Friday, the Ducks announced. The 36-year-old Bieksa has eight assists in 59 games this season for Anaheim, which is fighting to get into playoff position

We are approaching three weeks since the trade deadline, so it seems like a good time to check back on the players who changed addresses on Feb. 26 to see if some of the fantasy value has actually panned out. For an unscientific approach, the following players are ranked for their ESPN Player Rater value

Which bubble team will miss the playoffs this year — but doesn’t deserve to? Greg Wyshynski, senior writer: The Colorado Avalanche are starting to state their case as a playoff team, with Nathan MacKinnon willing them into the postseason. Which means we might be down to three teams for two playoff seeds — the Anaheim

MOSCOW — Former NHL forward Ilya Kovalchuk wants to return to the NHL this summer and play there for “several more years.” Kovulchuk, who is playing for SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League, walked out on the New Jersey Devils in 2013 to return to Russia, where he has since won two KHL

The battle for the Stanley Cup kicks off in less than a month, on Wednesday, April 11. While there are still several teams battling to secure a playoff spot in the Western Conference, teams in the East are fairly well decided. Best Odds to Win the Stanley Cup This season, three of the four 2016-17

No matter how good a team may be in the regular season or how blazing hot they get down the stretch, one nice thing about being an NHL fan is there is enough parity in the league that every team feels it has a chance come playoff time. On the other side of that coin,

When people talk about the 2015 NHL Draft, the obvious narrative that stands out surrounding the Boston Bruins is the fact that they had three consecutive picks in the first round, none of which were used to select Mathew Barzal. It’s a fair point, even if it has been talked about ad nauseam for almost three

Mar 16, 2018 Greg WyshynskiESPN I entered the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ locker room after practice with a theory to test: Center Evgeni Malkin, who, as of Friday, sits two points (89) and two goals (40) away from the league lead in both categories, is the most underappreciated dominant player in the NHL today, and potentially of

If you watched the Vancouver Canucks during the 90’s, chances are you’re very familiar with the name ‘Ronning’. Cliff Ronning was an integral part of the Canucks’ 1994 Cup-running team, but now, his son is the one making his mark for a Vancouver hockey club. However, it’s not the Canucks, but rather the Giants of

As the NHL’s Western Conference careens to its April finish, it is not always easy to figure out how your team is faring, where it projects and what is coming up next. At The Hockey Writers, we’re here to help. We’ve put together a quick and simple view of the teams locked in this close

As the Edmonton Oilers likely head toward an early offseason, they have chosen to showcase some of their prospects and give them the opportunity to play and prove their worth at the NHL level. So far, Ethan Bear has taken this chance and run with it. In his short time with the team so far,

The already banged-up Boston Bruins will be without defenseman Zdeno Chara and forward Jake DeBrusk for the next two games. “Upper-body,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Will not play tonight. Will not play Saturday. We’ll have a better idea, both of them, once we are back in Boston.” Defenseman Torey Krug was also hurt against

In today’s Rumor Rundown, we discuss a couple teams and some off-season plans that may be in the works. Are the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators discussing a major move? What about the New York Rangers who have told fans of their intention to rebuild but may not be completely acting like a rebuilding team?

The NHL is a business. Hockey is a game loved by many, and as fans, we often forget how much more goes into success than what we see on a night-to-night basis. Coaches and players are the ones we accredit wins and losses to, but it’s the behind scenes work that allows them to play